By Anne Llewellyn, RN-BC, MS, BHSA, CCM, CRRN
Editor-in-Chief of Case in Point Magazine and the Case Management Resource Guide

As you read this edition of Case In Point Weekly, I will be in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a market town in Bavaria, a state in southern Germany. The purpose of my trip is to present a two-day program for military nurse case managers serving in the European Theater. I am very excited to have this opportunity to share information with our fellow case managers who are doing tremendous work transitioning our wounded warriors. I am sure I will learn as much from them as they learn from me. I will provide an expanded update next week, so be sure to check back.

As I prepared for the program, I marveled at the scope of our health care system and the impact case management has throughout the care continuum. As members of the health care team, case managers have the ability to impact outcomes by educating and empowering patients, families and other team members about the unique needs of the patients we encounter. As advocates for the patient, we strive to ensure that each patient receives safe, quality care at the right time and in the least restrictive setting. This is not always an easy task, and being an effective case manager today requires clinical skills, business skills, and a healthy dose of creativity.

To help case managers meet their resource challenges I would like to highlight two important resources: the Case Management Resource Guide and the National Directory of Children, Youth and Families Services. Behind the scenes, we are working hard to wrap up both directories to provide you with important resources that you can use as you address the social and medical issues of your patients.

Many of you are familiar with the Case Management Resource Guide. However, you may not realize that CMRG celebrates its 20th anniversary next year. To celebrate this milestone, I connected the team members who initially developed both CMRG and CMRG.com and asked them to share their thoughts on the state of the practice and the Resource Guide’s role in a diversified setting.

As I read through the information they shared, it was amazing to see that their vision for the directory was so accurate. Today, CMRG is utilized in managed care, the hospital setting, long-term care, individual provider offices, government agencies and other settings across the health care landscape. Case managers, discharge planners, social workers and others utilize these resources on a daily basis to meet the needs of their patients. As many case managers are working across state lines, having a link to resources outside of your immediate area is an essential component of care coordination.

The Children, Youth and Families Services directory, or CYFS in shorthand, is a directory that provides important community and social resources that you can use for your patients. The 2010 updated and expanded version of CYFS is at the printer now and should be ready for purchase soon.

The driving force behind each of these directories is Kim Luna, the product manager for our directories. Kim is responsible for keeping these resources accurate and on a very tight production schedule so that they are ready for you each year. She does a great job and I would like to publicly thank her on behalf of all of the case management community. For your ease of use, both of these resources can now be found on Dorland’s new online store.

As I conclude, I wanted to remind everyone that next week is Case Management Week. I hope you take the time to celebrate the important work that you do each day. I assure you it is making a difference. Let me know how you and your team will celebrate!
Have a great week!